Clock Tower Grill & Bar

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  Just about the best dining experience I've had in a long time.
  
  Staff friendly, welcoming, and attentive
  Waitstaff knowledgeable, menu fresh and current
  Dinner was spot on
  My boyfriend and I ordered from the daily special list
  His pork chop and creamy grits- perfect
  My crab cake and frites, perfect
  Great local beer
  
  We were super pleased.
  
  Writing reviews isn't my thing
  But this visit warranted a shout
  
  So glad to have such a nice establishment in the area
  
  Will be back and tell everyone who will listen to us what a great place this is

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  Posted on 07.15.13 Mar S.

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  Good food nice menu selection. I will return.

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  Posted on 06.26.13 Alexis T.

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  Decent place! I haven't been impressed by previous restaurants in the past, but I was excited to try the Clock Tower Grill. It's a cute place, but could use a little more warmth to it. It seemed very nuevo farm-to-table, as in it tried to be high brow with some out of place elements. However, service was warm and bubbly, and very fast without being obnoxious.
  
  I was pleased with their drink menu, the only place serving a Dark N' Stormy nearby! Huge drink, strong and a reasonable price for what I received ($10). Bread was served in a rustic former ricotta can with European style butter with sea salt.
  
  My sister got the duck, and I a roasted half chicken. My chicken was perfect and again very large for the price ($14), with crispy skin, fresh asparagus and a potato hash. The duck was a special, served in a maple bbq-type pan sauce and cheesy grits. I wish I had room for dessert, as it looked amazing, but I settled for an earl grey tea.
  
  Overall, $65+ tip for two people, two entrees, two cocktails and two teas. I will certainly return.

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  Posted on 06.26.13 Katie M.

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  A serious CIA-trained chef doing high class New American food at reasonable prices.  A welcome addition to the area.  If you want a burger or roast chicken, that's here too, and both are good.  But creativity abounds throughout the menu.  Just as one example, the crostini appetizer is served with ricotta cheese topped with truffle-infused honey.  Genius.  Small but well-chosen wine list.  Service is professional, vibe is elegant but relaxed.  This place fills a need.  Hope it does well.

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  Posted on 05.10.13 Bill R.

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  (Deep breath) I had really, really high hopes for this place; due mostly to the lack of having anything remotely close to it in Putnam County. Therefore, in a sense I am somewhat partial, as I am all but desperate to introduce variety to the area. Previously, this had been a restaurant called 151 Bar & Grill, which I had frequented on a few occasions and found to be fairly descent.
  Off the bat, I loved the ambiance, cool exposed Edison bulbs, warm tones, and a generously sized table. The service was great, although we did have three different people waiting on us, so it was a little confusing tip wise. Now, I am somewhat of a self-proclaimed gastronome, so I can be hard to impress, but, complimentary sliced sandwich bread. Really folks, really? For a second I thought for sure, I was seeing things, but sadly, my eyes had not deceived me, it was....sliced...bread.  
  I ordered the butterhead lettuce, with goat cheese and roasted squash. The lettuce was nice and fresh, the goat cheese a little light for my taste but still good, and all nicely dressed. However the squash, not sure who was in charge of this component, but it tasted of absolutely nothing. Furthermore, it was inconstant in texture, some pieces so undercooked, I couldn't even cut through them. I also regret to admit I took to the salt shaker, something I almost NEVER do, especially for a salad, but I regret to say, it really needed it.  For the main, I ordered the Shrimp & Scallop linguine, and my husband, the Short Rib sandwich with truffle French Fries. (Sigh) Again, my hand traveled over to the iniquitous saltshaker, I have to say, it truly pained me to have to do this, but much like my first course, it desperately needed it. The linguine was fresh made, which was a nice touch, however tasted unequivocally of again, nothing. Pasta cooked in under salted, or unsalted water is in every sense of the word, a sin. The linguine came with exactly three small to medium sized shrimp, and two abysmally over cooked scallops. I anticipated the moment that Mr. Gordon Ramsey would come rushing through the door, with his fist prepared to smash down onto my plate. The lemon white wine sauce, which accompanies this dish, is more like a sporadic lemon flavored fish water.  Oddly enough, most of the dish tasted nothing like lemon, while the last two bites did. I can only attribute this to the fact that the dish was haphazardly plated, with my shrimp and scallops, quite literally buried under the pasta, and so mostly likely, not well incorporated.
  The short rib sandwich was nicely plated, and came with a somewhat heavily dressed mixed green salad. The fries ironically enough were heavily salted, but a nice contrast to...you guessed it...the bland short rib.  Scarce in its quantity, whatever little short rib you did get, lacked in flavor. The ciabatta was nice, but greatly outweighed the meat to bread ratio. However, in comparison to the linguine was the better of the two.
  Now to the dessert, to be honest, I was tempted to skip this step all together; however I have a blog to maintain here, so what good would the review be without it? I was under-whelmed by the selection. A chocolate polenta tart in the hands of a well-trained pastry chef, perhaps, at this particular restaurant, no. I had little to no faith that the bread pudding would have been the wisest choice, but since my husband was going with the warm cookie type tart thingie, I braced myself to order the pudding. That is, until our waitress mentioned the carrot cake, which was being featured that evening. Ok carrot cake it is! I used the time between our placing the order, and receiving it, to prepare myself to be disappointed, touché, the carrot cake was excellent. Made in house? Probably not, but still a very nice surprise, I might also add my coffee was piping hot, which is how all coffee should be served. My husband on the other hand, was served an extremely stale cookie that was without doubt, microwaved to death, as the center temperature of the cookie was much like that of an angry volcano. Needless to say, this mouth scalding temperature combined with the tooth shattering consistency made for a less than pleasant experience.
  Now I promised myself I would refrain from tearing people apart in my reviews, since by my standards, I have a fairly experienced palate, but I've no Michelin stars by which to judge. Having said that, my decision to post this review is based on the sheer hope that this place will improve. Have I had better? Yes, but I give these folks a lot of credit for introducing this towns otherwise lackluster and incredibly monotonous palate to something new. Believe it or not, I haven't lost hope in this establishment, I believe in due time, they will prove me wrong.

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  Posted on 04.20.13 S.Dumont R.

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  Restaurant Week Date Night with the Hubby!!
  
  Literally just got home from here and wanted to Yelp because sadly, they're listed as another restaurant on Yelp.  I guess they must have changed names after a change in owners or management or something.  It used to be called 512 Grill & Bar.  
  
  This place is so cute!  It's very new age, farm to table type.  It has a spoon and fork as handles for the doors (and they're massive sized too!)  It has one of those sliding barn doors to separate the dining room.  And from what it looked like, they were remodeling another part of the restaurant.  
  
  They gave quite a bit of options for each course.  I believe there were at least 6 for the first and second courses and then 3 for the dessert!  I love it when a restaurant does that for restaurant week!!  And it was a great variety off their menu too which is good.  My hubby had the buffalo calamari followed by the short ribs and then the warm chocolate chip cookie.  I had the foie gras, then the fish tacos and finished with a bread pudding.  The buffalo calamari had a nice kick to it and were covered with sauce while staying breaded.  It was garnished with blue cheese and shaved celery but no dipping sauce.  The short ribs were very tender and served with carrots and mashed potatoes, a really homey and comfort food type of meal.  The short ribs could have had just a tiny bit more flavor to them.  The chocolate cookie was spot on and I thought my husband was going to lick the plate clean.  My foie gras was a little bland but paired with the fruit compote they added it was good.  Unfortunately, the crostini I got was a little too charred on the bottom.  The fish tacos were yum!  And I had them with truffle french fries which were also delish and needed no extra seasoning!!  My bread pudding was soooooo good and here's the thing... I don't like bread pudding!! Funny enough, it was my second one of the day (I know, it was a little indulgent) since I had gone to lunch with a coworker for restaurant week as well.  Double restaurant week day!  I have to admit... this one was better than the one earlier in the day.  It was just super moist and the chocolate bits on the inside were the perfect addition!  
  
  Waiters were attentive... noise level was quiet since there weren't that many people there.  And atmosphere is trendy yet comfy.  It's a smaller restaurant but they take reservations (and on opentable) so if you go on a weekend, I'd recommend making one just in case.
  
  Overall, a great experience.  I defintiely plan on coming back here again, especially since it's a bit swanky and close to home so I can get dolled up and feel like I have some place to go!  The prices on the regular menu weren't astronomical either!!  This is what the true essence of restaurant week is, at least for me: the idea that you try a restaurant you may not have noramlly gone to and end up loving it and wanting to come back on a regular night!

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  Posted on 03.21.13 Paola C.

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  I've been here twice for lunch in a period of one week. Simply put, the food and prices keep bringing me back. The food is as good as it was when this place was Sentrista. The prices are lower than they ever were.  The servers and staff are pleasant and knowledgeable as always.
  
  What sets Clocktower Grill apart is the menu. There aren't any restaurants in the immediate area that serve this type of American food. Furthermore, the menu is creative and full of items that most American restaurants never offer. Some examples are potato mushroom hash, bouillabaisse with saffron tomato broth, and a kale salad with dried apricots.
  
  Finding an American restaurant in the Brewster-Danbury area is hard. Finding an American restaurant with this combination of good food, low prices, fine service, and a creative menu, is nearly impossible. In short, this restaurant is a rare find and an asset to the area.

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  Posted on 02.19.13 Alex A.

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